Agoraphobia
by K.T. Winters
Summary: Agoraphobia is the fear of people, or of large crowds. For Aurora, this gives her a life of darkness and despair, except when Nathan paints pictures for her in her mind. At least then the darkness is bearable. At least then the darkness isn't so bad.


I had this in mind one day while I was listening to music and was BORED OUT OF MY MIND one day. So, I had a bit of a inspiration and poof! There was this. I also may have used this to practise my description of settings in general as well. Don't worry. This won't be continued. It was only meant as a 'for fun' type thing. Yeah yeah, it's a one-shot...

**Songs of Inspiration: **Umbrella - Rihanna, Kiss the Rain - Yiruma, Maybe - Yiruma, and With You - Jessica Simpson.

Don't forget to review me at the end!

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**Agoraphobia**

_Agoraphobia is a condition where the sufferer becomes anxious in environments that are unfamiliar or where he or she perceives that they have little control. – Wiki__pedia_

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Rain fell lightly in the city of Geffen. It was warm outside, but the gently pitter-pattering of the summer rain cooled off the citizens as they headed home for the day. The sunlight peeked shyly above the clouds, creating a faint rainbow that gave the small town a beautiful, mysterious glow of the evening.

Children ran outside to play in the rain, jumping joyfully in the cool break from the summer heat. The scent of wildflowers that bloomed created a bouquet of sweet smells outside the city gates and, for a moment in time, it seemed that everything was perfect.

"Do you hear that, Aurora?" asked Nathan. "It's the sound of rain."

Nathan has been a travelling bard for the most of his life, carrying his guitar around with him whereever he went and played it whenever he and Aurora was short on money. He had short, curly blond hair that was always ruffled up no matter how well he combed it, and beautiful blue eyes that seemed to have a gleam of mischievousness in them. He had on a dirty white shirt and dark brown pants that he wore on his travels. Simple, but it'll do for now.

He had a fit frame; not too lanky, but not very muscular. His skin was lightly tanned and he had a small marking on his left shoulder that branded him as a travelling outcast. Nathan didn't mind, of course. He always considered being smart was better than being strong in a fight, and he valued what the gods gave him for a mind and for a body, and didn't care of how people saw him as.

"You should see it, Aurora," he sighed as he lay underneath a large tree that he and Aurora were taking shelter in. "There's a rainbow above Geffen that arches all the way up to the heavens above."

Aurora nodded. "I can see it." She replied calmly. "I can see it perfectly in my mind. You paint pictures with your words very well, Nathan."

Nathan smiled. Aurora was his best friend since childhood and Nathan always joked she should've been a dancer when she was old enough. At home, she glided in her moves with grace and perfection only compared to that of the gods themselves.

She had a small tan body, but she was flexible and highly coordinated in whatever she did. She had long brown hair that was tied in a loose pony-tail and she wore a long, dark beige skirt and a white and pale yellow chemise.

Aurora would've been a perfect dancer had there not been one problem.

She was agoraphobic.

She was like that since birth.

She was afraid of crowds or of people in general. Wide open spaces caused her difficulty breathing, but being in a small place led to her fainting. The only place that kept her sanity was within her mind, where she could only see things that Nathan described to her. Where there was only her and Nathan and no one else. Because nothing else mattered.

It was because of that, Aurora was forced to wear a blindfold since childhood to keep her from having panic attacks. She would be blinded her whole life, seeing only darkness and what Nathan painted for her. That would be the only way she was able to live.

"Nathan," she said as she leaned on the tree trunk beside Nathan. "Can you paint me another picture? I want to see what Geffen looks like."

"Well, we're outside the gates right now," he began. "The doors themselves are open, showing all of the residents inside. Children are laughing and dancing around in the rain, while parents are inside, calling for them to come in the house to get dry."

Aurora chuckled. "I remember the times when we both did that too." She said. "Those days were so fun, weren't they?"

The young bard laughed. "Yes, those were pleasant times," he said. "Hmm... Oh, it seems that one of the magicians nearby is creating a small display of fireworks."

"Really? What do they look like?"

"Well, he's making sparks of fire blossom like flowers in the rain, each of red, yellow and, oh, there's a blue one too!"

Both began to laugh as they sat under the large tree. Nathan wrapped his arms around Aurora, who placed her head on his shoulders. Both seemed content where they were, no matter how wet their clothes were in the rain.

"He's making real flowers now," Nathan mumbled. "Making them bloom straight out of the ground…various kinds, too. There's baby's breath, daisies and even roses."

He continued describing the flowers to her when he had an idea.

"Stay right here, ok?" Nathan said as he stood up. "I'll be right back." In a moment, he was gone.

Much to Aurora's surprise, she remained calm. She tried her best to not think of the children, or of the imaginary people around her.

But it didn't work. There were small pulses of discomfort as the presences of children far away seem to creep closer and closer to her.

Aurora whimpered. Her breathing quickened and her heart raced. Her body trembled in fear as the sounds of the children edged closer and closer. Suddenly, there was a small tap on her shoulder.

"Miss?" asked a child. Aurora couldn't see him, but her heart began to race even more. "Are you ok?" it was just a boy. He was worried when he saw her all alone and wanted to see if she was ok.

It seemed like such an innocent question, but Aurora couldn't seem to take it. She felt like the child was a monster, and it was sucking the air right from out of her lungs. She couldn't breathe. There was no oxygen.

'Nathan,' she thought as she grabbed desperately for air. 'Where are you? I need you here. Please!'

The child was frightened now. He whimpered in fear as he saw Aurora grabbing urgently for air. There had to be something he can do.

"It's ok, miss," he said, reaching out and holding her hand. "Things will be—"

Aurora pulled back. She was being ganged up on, she could feel it! Of course, she couldn't see it, but she knew. There was probably a sea of children now, watching her, surrounding her, giving her no way to escape.

She wanted to run, to get away from the crowd of children, but all she could do was sit there, hugging her knees and cry. Tears wetted her blindfold, but she didn't care. She couldn't breathe, her heart was racing, sweat beaded down her face, and no matter how much she called for Nathan, he didn't come.

Her mind was a whirlwind of faces of children.

"I-it's ok, miss!" the child cried, backing away from the estranged woman. There seemed to be nothing he can do now. Soon, he'll be in trouble for hurting her, and his mother will yell at him. He had to get out of here!

But, as he turned to run, he bumped into someone.

It was Nathan.

"What happened?" he cried, rushing towards Aurora. "It's ok, Aurora. I'm here. Nathan's here." He held her close, repeating that there was nothing surrounding them, that there was only Nathan himself and no one else.

The boy backed away as he looked on. Nathan gave him one final wave of the hand to leave, and the boy ran back to Geffen, leaving the two still under the tree in the rain.

Aurora didn't calm down, even as she heard Nathan's voice. She couldn't stop seeing, _hearing_ the mass of children around her. There was a jumble of words so loud, she couldn't hear Nathan's voice. It seemed that she was forever trapped in the sea of people, and that this was the end.

It seemed that nothing was going to calm her down, that there was no hope for Aurora, but Nathan knew what to do. He's been her friend for too long now and he knew how to save her from her nightmares.

"Look, Aurora." He said. "We're home. We're in your room now, playing checkers. You're winning, see?"

Aurora paused. The crowd of children faded and was replaced with a small room with a bed at the side and a small desk under the window. There was a board of checkers on the floor.

"You have two kings," Nathan whispered. "And you're about to get your third one."

Yes…she can see it in her mind; her kings and his pieces, and one of her pieces just one move away from turning into a king.

"And you're winning. I have only 2 pieces left." Nathan chuckled.

Aurora smiled. Her crying ceased and her breathing became normal again. The crowd of children was no more. Only she and Nathan remained, playing checkers in her room while the rain pattered lightly outside.

"Oh, you moved your piece," he said. "Now I only have one piece left."

Aurora was fully calm now as she imagined the images in her mind. Her fear was no more and she was now glad that Nathan saved her from her terror.

"Thank you," she said, resting her head onto his shoulder, tired and exhausted from her panic attack. "Thank you. For all that you've done."

Nathan smiled. "That's what friends are for, right?"

Aurora chuckled. "So what were you going to do before?" she asked.

"Oh, I went to get you a flower from the magician." He replied. He held up a small white rose and gave it to her. "There are no thorns, I promise."

Aurora laughed as she held the flower delicately between her fingers.

"It feels beautiful," she said, gently touching the flower petals with her fingers. "And it smells nice."

Nathan looked at the flower contently, and then looked at Aurora.

"Yes…" he whispered. "Very…beautiful."

The two remained that way for a while, until Aurora spoke up again.

"What does the sky look like? Is it still raining?" she said.

Nathan looked up. The rain slowed to a sprinkle, and the setting sun broke through the clouds, leaving a spectacular hue of yellow, orange and red. The clouds turned pink, slowly separating to let the sun through before the day turns to night.

"Nathan?"

"Hm?"

"Paint the sky for me?"

"Sure. The rain slowed to a mere sprinkle now, and the setting sun…"

And the two stayed that way for the rest of the day, but for Aurora, sitting under the large treein the warm coloured sky, the day felt too short.

In her mind, she hoped she could stay like that forever, with Nathan by her side, in her room playing checkers where she would always win, with the gentle summer rain falling gently outside her window and where nothing else mattered.

Of course nothing else mattered.

There was no one else that mattered besides Nathan, and that was all she needed.

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Yeah...I'm a sucker for phobias...

So, will I continue this? Probably not. BUT, if a lot of people review enough, I might consider turning this into a series. But that's only if a lot of you review. ;)

Oh, and if you guys think ya'll wanna make a series on your own with my characters, go right ahead. Just make sure to credit me.

So review!

_Winter away!_


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